News

Consultation on Health and Social Care Strategy for Older People

The SPPC has submitted a response to the recent Scottish Government consultation on a Health and Social Care Strategy for Older People.

The SPPC's response can be viewed here: SPPC Response to Health and Social Care Strategy for Older People consultation

New Strategy for Cancer Services

The SPPC has responded to a Scottish Government consultation on a new strategy for cancer services.

The SPPC's response can be viewed here: SPPC Response to SG Consultation on a New Strategy for Cancer Services

SPPC letter to the First Minister

Prompted by comments made on the issue of assisted dying, the SPPC has written a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon asking her to consider two practical steps to improve palliative care in Scotland.

The SPPC will ask all MSPs to commit to the same two things as they consider the proposal to legalise assisted dying in Scotland:

Firstly, to ensure that people in Scotland have an explicit legal right to palliative and end of life care. The forthcoming Scottish Human Rights Bill provides a timely and appropriate vehicle for achieving this (and could make Scotland the first country in the world to enshrine such a right in domestic legislation).

In this context, 'palliative and end of life care' refers to care provided to people approaching the end of life across the health and social care system – in hospitals, care homes and at home – not just the specialist providers such as hospices and NHS specialist palliative care units which provide excellent care.

Secondly, SPPC is asking Nicola Sturgeon and all MSPs to support investment in palliative care. The forthcoming new Scottish Government national strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care provides a timely mechanism through which priorities for long overdue and necessary improvements can be identified and funding assigned.

The letter to Nicola Sturgeon is available here: SPPC Letter to the First Minister

New Chair for SPPC

Rami Okasha has been elected as the new Chair of SPPC. Rami succeeds Annabel Howell who has completed a 6-year stint as Chair.

In his day job Rami is Chief Executive of Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), having originally joined CHAS as Director of Transformation and Innovation. Prior to joining CHAS, Rami was Executive Director of Strategy and Improvement at the Care Inspectorate, Scotland’s largest scrutiny and improvement body. There, he was responsible for leading the Care Inspectorate’s improvement support activities across the care sector, and directed approaches to scrutiny methodology, intelligence, organisational development, corporate reporting, involving people who experience care in decisions, communications and policy development. He co-led the development of Scotland’s Health and Social Care Standards, working with people who use and provide care to ensure these are outcomes-focused, based on human rights and wellbeing, and person-led. Rami is also a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Scotland Committee and is responsible for advising the Commission on its work in Scotland.

Speaking after his election by SPPC's Council Rami said,

"It is an extraordinary honour and privilege, both personally and professionally, to have been chosen as the Chair of the SPPC Council and to succeed Dr Annabel Howell. Put simply, the SPPC is an amazing organisation which exists in order to improve people’s experiences of living with declining health, death, dying and bereavement in Scotland. The team in the SPPC are passionate about what they do, working with health and care professionals and also the Scottish public. I have seen first-hand the difference the organisation makes through its unique cross-sector, multi professional network approach. As Chair of the SPPC, I am looking forward to working with member organisations, stakeholders, SPPC staff and the Council to realise SPPC’s ambition to ensure that Scotland will be a place where people are supported throughout bereavement, their wellbeing is supported even as their health declines and fundamentally, that people die well."

SPPC Chief Executive Mark Hazelwood said,

"I'm delighted to welcome Rami to the role of Chair, which involves leading SPPC's Council which oversees and guides all of our work. Rami brings lots of relevant experience and perspectives which will be very valuable in ensuring that SPPC continues to maximise its impact. I'm really looking forward to working with Rami during what are challenging and important times for palliative care in Scotland."